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Asaba Massacre: How Hundreds of Asaba People Were Killed In 1967

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Background

On the 27th of May, 1967, General Yakubu Gowon promulgated decree number 14 which created 12 states (six in the north and six in the south) out of the former four regions in Nigeria. Governor of the Eastern Region, Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, saw this creation of states (without consultation) as a breach of the 1967 Aburi Accord.

This rubbed salt to the political and ethnic wounds the country has been nursing long before independence. Following the creation of states, Col. Ojukwu considered the seven-point resolution of the Eastern Assembly and the Advising Committee of Chiefs and Elders which mandated him to declare the secession of the Eastern Region from the Federal Republic of Nigeria…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

Eventually, on the 30th of May, 1967, Col. Ojukwu declared the independent Republic of Biafra and this immediately set the stage for war, the Nigerian civil war.

Nigerian Troops In Asaba In 1967
Nigerian troops at Asaba in 1967

How The Asaba Massacre Happened

It was during the Nigerian civil war, also known as the Biafran war, that the Asaba massacre was perpetrated. This was from the 5th to 7th of October 1967.

In August 1967, two months before the Asaba massacre, a division of the seceded Eastern Region (Biafra) army led by Lieutenant-Colonel Victor Banjo occupied Benin in the Midwestern Region of Nigeria.

The Biafran army (also called Liberation Army) wanted to use Benin as a launching ground for the invasion of Ibadan and Lagos but unfortunately for them, the proposed invasion failed due to reasons connected to the newly promoted Lieutenant Banjo. Lieutenant Banjo wanted to secure Benin in good hands before proceeding to Ibadan so he would not be suddenly cut off from Biafra. (Ademoyega 1981)

Lieutenant victor banjo
Lieutenant Victor Banjo

Banjo’s failure gave the Federal (Nigerian) troops an opportunity to recapture Benin and drive Biafran army out. They chased the Biafran army into Asaba and then into Onitsha. After the Biafran army crossed into Onitsha, they blew up a part of the Onitsha bridge making it impossible for the Federal troops to continue the chase. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

It was at this point that the people of Asaba met their ill fate. The Nigerian army second division led by Col. Murtala Muhammed turned back to Asaba and killed many people, ransacked their houses and perpetrated other war crimes on the claim that the victims were Biafran sympathizers. This happened on the 5th of October, 1967.

Asaba Massacre of 1967
Map showing the movement of the Nigerian and Biafran troops

Knowing things could go worse, on the 7th of October, two days after the federal troops arrived in Asaba, the people of Asaba organized a dance to show their support for One Nigeria. Men and women, boys and girls all danced in their Akwa Ocha (white) attire and repeatedly showed the intention of the dance.

Unfortunately, the federal troops turned the dance into a bloody one. They separated men from women and killed the men. Many sources have it that the troops led by Col. Murtala Muhammed and Col. Ibrahim Taiwo oversaw the aspect of adult male killings.

Asaba Massacre of 1967
Mural depicting the Asaba massacre. October 7, 1967 | Cheta Nwanze

Asaba stank with blood and dead bodies which were later pilled up and buried in a mass grave. None of the dead could be given a proper burial with necessary funeral rites. Up to 1000 people lost their lives in the Asaba massacre. A source claimed that younger girls were raped and the recalcitrant ones were shot dead.

A video which documented the Asaba Massacre of 1967 showed one of the lucky survivors, Patience Chukwura who was then a young mother pregnant with her fourth child as she narrated how her husband, Eddie, was killed. Her father-in-law and two brothers-in-law were also murdered in cold blood.

Many citizens of Asaba fled their homes and did not return until the Nigerian civil war ended in 1970. Below is a video documenting the Asaba massacre by S. Elizabeth Bird and Fraser Ottanelli in 2013. In this video, witnesses of the Asaba massacre recounted their horrible experiences and losses.

 

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METRO

Nurses got fired immediately after ‘stunning video showed what they did to a newborn’s face’!

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As all parents know by now, nurses are responsible for the daily care of your baby. They will feed, change, and bathe your baby. They will also give medicines and keep track of vital signs – like temperature, breathing, and heart rate); and monitor medical equipment.

But, unfortunately, sometimes they forget what’s their job description. Per reports. a group of nurses reportedly recorded themselves doing the unthinkable a newborn’s face fired after video infuriates public.

The group of nurses who recorded themselves chuckling while cruelly crushing the face of a hospitalized newborn have actually been fired after their video was flowed online. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

The baby’s household discovered the worrying treatment their kid had actually gotten at the hands of these nurses after the video was shared on social networks. In the stunning video, a nurse can be seen consistently getting the baby by the neck and forehead, and inhumanely crushing the child’s face, while the onlooking nurses chuckled…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

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Man who indecently assaulted 4 girls walked free when the judge explained to the victims why ‘jail isn’t appropriate’!

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According to the court documents, the 20-year-old defendant, Christopher, pleaded guilty to ra-ing one young girl and se-ually abusing three others over the course of a year.

But, unfortunately,, thanks to the judge’s sympathy, he won’t even set foot inside of a prison cell for any of his crimes. The victims of the defendant are tormented by the fact that their se-ual abuser will not be jailed for his actions. The defendant was formally charged with first-degree ra-e, third-degree ra-e, and se-ual abuse involving multiple minors when he was only 17 years old.

The abuse occurred over the course of a year at his home. He later pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree se* abuse, third-degree attempted abuse, and third-degree ra-e. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

Per reports, Judge Murphy said in front of Belter and his victims that he agonized over whether or not to imprison the rapist. He then announced that Belter would receive no jail time and just eight years of probation for his crimes because jailing him wouldn’t be an appropriate sentence…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

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Police thought disabled woman is a killer, they wheeled her to the judge and ‘she said these 5 chilling words’!

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According to the court documents, the 50-year-old disabled woman, Asenka, was reportedly charged with murder for allegedly killing her mother.

The woman appeared in court and had an interesting request for the judge. Per reports, Asenka was charged with the murder of her 75-year-old mother at the home they shared and then dug a grave for her in the backyard.

She was brought into the court in a wheelchair, where she requested ‘the unexpexted’. Among the many people who commented about this incident, one person remarked: “Give her what she wants.” READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

Per reports, the 50-year-old woman reportedly said: “I want the death penalty. Lethal injection, please. The court does not want me alive, and neither do I.” She had reportedly told detectives that her mother, Carole, abused her physically over the years. When they fought the previous week, she punched her mother in the head and she passed away…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

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